Judge Refuses House Arrest For 10-Year-Old Accused of Attacking Neighbor

(Police allege the victim was beaten with a rock, a rope -- both seen on the patio chair -- and a potted plant, seen overturned inside the door.)

By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — There is a new wrinkle in the case of a ten-year-old Philadelphia boy accused of beating a neighbor in her Juniata Park home earlier this month.

Family Court administrative judge Kevin Dougherty today told the boy and his mom he would not sign off on home detention with GPS monitoring because “protection of the community trumps his freedom,” at least for now.

But juvenile law requires the judge to assess an underage defendant’s custody status every ten days.

The rail-thin, ten-year-old defendant is accused of recruiting two other boys, ages nine and seven, in a home invasion a few doors down from his row home, allegedly attacking a 51-year-old woman (see related story), an immigrant from Vietnam who speaks little English.

The cases against the younger boys are said to be “open,” meaning they have not yet been charged.

The judge relisted the trial for September 5th, because new information has surfaced about a potential adult co-defendant. Detectives are trying to determine whether an adult was involved in the home invasion.

The boy’s public defender says if there’s an adult involved, it changes the entire complexion of the case.